Stand up straight to stay fighting fit: From raised blood pressure to a bloated stomach, the surprising effects of bad posture

While our ancestors moved constantly as they hunted for food, we spend the vast majority of our time in static positions — either sitting or standing — when the temptation to slump and sag is just too great.

‘We fight against gravity the whole time,’ explains Robert McCoy, a lecturer on anatomy at the British School of Osteopathy.

Those who walked with a slouched body posture reported feeling more depressed and having lower energy levels than those who were more upright

‘It takes about ten minutes of sitting or standing before the muscles in the spine and abdomen that hold us up start to get tired, and we start to lean forward.’

Most of us know from experience that sitting hunched in front of a computer or driving wheel can lead to a stiff, painful back and shoulders.

But poor posture can lead to other health problems . . .

IT CAN RAISE YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE . . .

The usual risk factors for high blood pressure are age, being overweight, smoking and chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes. But scientists now think slouching may trigger it, too.

This is because there is a link between neck muscles and the area of the brain that helps regulate blood pressure.

In a study published in 2007, neuro-scientists at the University of Leeds found that when cells in the neck muscles sense the neck is moving, they send a signal to that area of the brain.

The theory is that this helps ensure adequate blood supply when we change posture, for example from sitting to standing.

But if the neck muscle cells become damaged or pressured through stooping and slumping, this could trigger problems with blood pressure, suggests Professor Jim Deuchars, the scientist who led the study.

He adds that this might explain why some people who suffer whiplash injuries notice a change in their blood pressure — sometimes it’s higher, sometimes lower.

‘It’s possible that poor posture, which compresses the neck muscles, may be involved in high blood pressure, too, but more research is needed.’

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. . . AND LEAD TO DISTRESSING LEAKS

Around half of all women suffer from bladder problems at some point, with many developing from stress incontinence, urine leaks when they laugh or cough.

Poor posture may be partly to blame. When you stand correctly, your spine should form a slight S-shape, with a small curve near the neck and one at the lower spine.

Studies by physiotherapist Ruth Sapsford, at the University of Queensland, have shown that women with stress incontinence and who’ve suffered from a prolapse (when the pelvic organs drop out of position) have less curve in their lower spine than women without these conditions.

Sitting upright — with the spine adopting its natural curve at the bottom — engages more of the pelvic floor muscles, which support the bladder (important for continence).

‘If you’re sitting in a slumped, C-shaped posture, there’s more weight bearing down on your bladder and pelvic floor muscles, which will weaken them over time and make you more likely to leak,’ explains Sammy Margo, of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy.

‘Apart from this, good posture can enhance your enjoyment of your sex life, as strong pelvic floor muscles are associated with more and better orgasms.’

SLUMPING MAKES YOU SAD AND SHY

A study of 110 students by San Francisco State University last year found those who walked with a slouched body posture reported feeling more depressed and having lower energy levels than those who were more upright.

Study leader Erik Peper, a professor of health education at the university, says sitting or standing up straight with shoulders back does not just give other people a good impression, but also sends a message to the brain that makes us feel better about ourselves.

‘We tend to think the brain and body relationship goes one way. In fact, the passages go both ways.

‘When you choose to put your body in a different mode, it’s harder to drop into depression.’

Meanwhile, in a 2007 study at Colorado College, students with the best sitting posture felt more confident — and scored significantly higher on tests — than those who sat slumped. Interestingly, though, the trend was only true for male students.

Women felt more confident if they’d slouched, possibly because men tend to determine how they feel according to internal cues, while women think more about how they look to others — for them an upright posture made them feel pressured and self-conscious.

IT MAY TRIGGER HEARTBURN

Slumping doesn’t just wreak havoc on your spine but also, in turn, on the alignment of the whole body.

According to some experts, one of the consequences can be heartburn — where stomach acid travels into the oesophagus, causing chest pain.

Slumping doesn't just wreak havoc on your spine but also, in turn, on the alignment of the whole body

‘The pelvis is like a bowl, and when we stand up straight we hold it flat,’ says Robert McCoy. ‘But as you shift forward, the bowl tips forward and the contents, such as the stomach and digestive organs, shift, too.’

Over time, the sphincter muscle at the bottom of the oesophagus, which usually stops acid coming back up, becomes out of line with the oesophagus and stops working efficiently.

AND ASTHMATICS MIGHT STRUGGLE

‘You’ll notice that people don’t sigh when they sit slumped — they have to sit up to take a deep breath,’ observes Professor Stephen Spiro of the British Lung Foundation.

‘That’s because the lungs work best when we’re vertical. If you’re slumped forward you don’t fully breathe and ventilate the lungs, because they’re compressed and the diaphragm is coming up into the chest — so you won’t breathe as easily and efficiently.’

This can cause particular breathing problems for anyone with asthma or lung disease.

‘If you’re an asthmatic you probably don’t have bad posture because people are quite clever at correcting themselves,’ says Professor Spiro.

Physiotherapist Sammy Margo adds that slumping can mean less oxygen gets to the brain.

‘C-shaped people complain of being tired and fatigued all the time and it’s because the lungs are squashed and cannot get enough air in, and the brain needs plenty of oxygen to function at its best.’

IT CAN TRIGGER HEADACHES

If you find you suffer headaches while at work, it might be the way you sit, rather than the stress of your workload that’s the source of the problem.

‘When sitting at a desk, as the muscles in the back and stomach start to tire and the spine starts to slump, we tend to stick the neck and chin forward to keep the eyes in a good position, so we can still see the screen,’ says osteopath Robert McCoy.

‘Tension in the muscles at the base of the skull, caused by the spine rounding and the neck sticking forward, can pinch the trigeminal nerve in that area, leading to something called cervicogenic headache.

‘It tends to be characterised by pain that starts at the back of the head and travels up and over and ends just above the forehead.’

Painkillers such as paracetamol or ibuprofen may help, as will gently massaging the back of the neck to release the tension.

Or take McCoy’s top tip: ‘Lie flat on the floor with something like a telephone directory underneath your head. This will stretch the muscles in the neck.’

AND LEAVES YOU BLOATED

One in seven Britons is thought to suffer from irritable bowel syndrome, and even more find they feel bloated after eating.

Dr Michael Mendall, a gastroenterologist at Croydon University Hospital, says stooping can make feelings of bloatedness worse because it squashes the abdomen — so after a big meal, sit up straight to avoid discomfort.

One in seven Britons is thought to suffer from irritable bowel syndrome, and even more find they feel bloated after eating

Interestingly, he says bloating is a common side-effect of osteoporosis, the brittle-bone disease affecting three million people in the UK, which can alter posture.

‘As your spine crumbles you slump and lose volume in the abdominal cavity, so people find even though they are eating normally they feel full and bloated.

‘I’ve actually diagnosed osteoporosis in this way — the bloating was the first sign.’